| Mechanical Gremlins Attack Patrick
Sheltra Hard At Mansfield
“Team Determined To Rebound Despite Tough Night”
MANSFIELD, Ohio (July 17, 2010) - - For the second consecutive
race, Patrick Sheltra and his Sheltra Motorsports team were
bit by circumstances beyond their control as two separate
mechanical failures forced a upsetting 21st place finish
Saturday night in the Tim Richmond Memorial ARCA 200 at
Mansfield Motorsports Park (MMP).
Sheltra in the No. 60 Sheltra Motorsports Dodge Charger
entered the 10th race of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series presented
by RE/MAX and Menards season hoping for a quick rebound
from the most recent contest at Iowa Speedway where an engine
failure last Saturday night resulted in the team’s
worst finish (29th) of the year.
The Indiantown, Florida native started his one-day show
at Mansfield by posting the 16th fastest lap in practice
only to find additional speed in qualifying to put his Chrysler
nameplate 14th in the starting lineup for his second ever
tango with the Ohio-based speed plant.
In typical Sheltra fashion the drop of the green flag saw
the No. 60 quickly move up through the field and by lap
five; Sheltra had carefully maneuvered his automobile into
the top-10.
When the caution flag waived on lap 25 for a light spin
on the backstretch, Sheltra radioed his Sheltra Motorsports
team led by veteran crew chief Jon Wolfe that his car was
good but he needed a little help rolling through the center
of the corner.
Wolfe acknowledged his driver’s request by informing
him that a chassis adjustment would be made to correct the
problem during the first round of pit stops. Unfortunately,
while racing in the eighth position on lap 57, Sheltra furiously
informed his team that the battery was dead. As the 24-year
old was preparing to make an unscheduled pit stop under
green, the yellow flag waived for a multi-car incident in
turn four ultimately allowing the team to investigate the
issue under a slower race pace.
Despite losing several laps to the leaders, Sheltra returned
to the track with a new battery in-toe hoping to keep his
nose clean and keep his championship chase intact. Uncharacteristically
for the team’s season; the night continued to spiral
out of control.
A few laps later, Sheltra would have to bring his No. 60
Recycling Services / Ferguson Pipe Dodge Charger back down
pit road as the new battery would not hold a charge. Upon
further review by the team, it was determined that a line
to the alternator had broke; which forced an additional
repair on pit road. Despite losing more laps to the competition,
Sheltra returned to the race track just hoping to salvage
a decent finish but a rear-end failure just shy of half-way
brought the team’s frustrating night to a screeching
halt.
“We’re down but we’re not out,”
said Sheltra, who now has eight top-10 finishes in 10 races
this season. “It was another tough night, but we will
shake this monkey and get back to our championship form.
We’re only at the halfway point and there’s
a lot more racing left. We cannot afford to let these past
two races affect our long term goal. It’s important
to the team, our marketing partners and our fans that we
bounce back in typical Sheltra Motorsports fashion. You’ll
see what I am talking about at Pocono.”
With the finish, Sheltra took a dip in the ARCA Racing
Series championship point standings, dropping from second
to fourth tied with Tom Hessert accumulating 2,345 points.
Sheltra now sits 125 markers behind leader Justin Marks.
75 merits keep Sheltra from moving back into second locked
by Craig Goess with 40 credits keeping the Mooresville,
North Carolina based team from third held by nine-time ARCA
champion Frank Kimmel.
Next up for the ARCA Racing Series is a return trip to
Pocono (Pa.) Raceway for the running of the Weis Markets
125. The 11th race of the season is set for Saturday, July
31st scheduled to being at 3:00 p.m. Eastern live on SPEED;
following the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series first ever
trip to the Pocono mountains. Sheltra will look for his
second consecutive top-five at the 2.5-mile triangle as
in June; Sheltra raced his No. 60 Toyota Camry to one of
his five top-five finishes of the year.
Cost-effective marketing partnerships are still available
for the remainder of the 2010 ARCA Racing Series season.
For additional information, please contact brandon@patricksheltra.com
or marketing@patricksheltra.com.
Exiting Mansfield, Sheltra has 77 ARCA Racing Series presented
by RE/MAX and Menards starts to his credit with one career
victory at Salem (Ind.) Speedway (April 2009). During his
ARCA tenure, Sheltra has accumulated 15 top-fives and posted
30 top-10 finishes. A third place qualifying effort at Rockingham
(N.C.) Speedway (April 2009) and Michigan International
Speedway (June 2010) is Sheltra’s best time trials
effort to date. He has controlled the ARCA field six times
for 148 laps.
For the latest on Patrick Sheltra, Sheltra Motorsports
and marketing partnership opportunities please visit PatrickSheltra.com.
Join the official Patrick Sheltra fan page on Facebook by
clicking here.
About Sheltra Motorsports:
Sheltra Motorsports (sheltramotorsports.com) is a three-tier
professional Motorsports organization consisting of dirt
and asphalt competition. Patrick Sheltra, a 24-year old
native of Indiantown, Florida competes in the UMP and WoO
(Dirt) Series; while also running a full schedule in the
Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) Racing Series presented
by RE/MAX and Menards (No. 60) and a limited schedule in
the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR).
The team is headquartered in Indiantown, Florida with additional
operations in Richmond, Indiana and Mooresville, North Carolina.
TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
Chris Knight, Sheltra Motorsports
P: 239.834.9797
E: chris@patricksheltra.com
|
